Took me a minute to find this video, then couldn’t resist rewatching the whole segment in full:

…The relevant line is at 5:55 of the video. At that point, Cena says “I’m not The Undertaker. I’m not a battered veteran with a bad hip.”

When he called out The Undertaker on this week’s episode of RAW, Cena spoke highly of The Deadman. Clearly he should’ve watched the above video. LOL. Like with the buildup to ‘Taker vs. Bray Wyatt three years ago, ‘Taker doesn’t need to show up in person. Cena has the best mic skills in the company and has since he walked in 15 years ago. He can build the match by himself. That said, I do see ‘Taker appearing to accept the challenge in the next three weeks.

All that said, let’s return to the entirety of the above video. Obviously, Cena destroyed Reigns on the mic. He took him to school and it was obvious especially from the 7:15 mark to about 8:00. Cena literally teaches Reigns during their promo how you cut a good promo (‘cuz John Cena is just that damn good). Cena prettymuch taught him to stop holding back when he does promos and as the new top guy, he has the leeway to go off script. Reigns clearly got it a few minutes later as he becomes more comfortable doing the promo.

Now check out the part this video is cued to:

…SAVAGE.

Cena makes reference Reigns’ recent suspensions at the time from failed drug tests. In one case, Reigns was absent for the buildup for the Triple Threat Match at the 2016 Battleground involving him, Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins. Ambrose was booked to retain the title and the match was built without Reigns so Ambrose and Rollins built the match on their own.

Both last week and this week, Reigns was half-cocked and cut some good promos. He wasn’t chewed out last week like he said he would be (it was planned) and this week’s segment involving Vince seemed to indicate there will be sine changes in how Lesnar is used after he presumably drops the title at Wrestlemania. Lesnar got away with holding the top title hostage 3 years ago because there wasn’t a brand split first and at the time, Vince was trying to get Lesnar to commit to WWE longterm.

By this time The WWE Universe knew both Lesnar and Goldberg would be leaving the company after Wrestlemania. For this reason, the two biggest up and coming superstars at the time–the WCW Veteran Goldberg and The Next Big Thing Brock Lesnar–were booked in a match with each other. The house crowd made it clear how they felt about both superstars leaving as they made their way down to the ring.

Stone Cold Steve Austin, who had his retirement match against The Rock at the Wrestlemania was the guest referee. He would later say he was beside himself to not react to the rage and anger from house crowd, who made their feelings known to Lesnar and Goldberg about both superstars leaving. Lesnar, whose contract disputes with WWE were already widely known got it the loudest. This was likely why after the match, he was dropped by Stone Cold to appease the crowd. Austin would share a beer with Goldberg before dropping him in kind as well to appease the crowd.

Lesnar would later go on to have a run in UFC while Goldberg disappeared from the public completely. Lesnar would make his return to WWE in 2012. Now older, wiser and more experienced, it didn’t take long for him to quickly erase the memories of how his first WWE tenure ended. Goldberg would make his return four years later in 2016.

As was revealed in WWE 24: Goldberg, Goldberg tweaked his shoulder during the promo he did with Rusev a few weeks before Survivor Series. This plus the short time he had to prepare for Survivor Series confirmed why the Survivor Series match was a squash match.

…It’s fitting that Goldberg and Lesnar would meet at Wrestlemania 33 given they both left WWE on bad terms 13 years earlier at Wrestlemania XX. Obviously, it was important to Goldberg to erase the memories of his last Wrestlemania appearance not just for himself and his son but for the fans as well.

How fitting that his opponent would once again be Brock Lensar, who was keenly aware of their shared history. The story goes, Lesnar made the call for their Survivor Series match to be a squash match to build towards their rematch at Wrestlemania. Goldberg needed to be Over with the fans so…yeah.

His standing with the WWE Universe restored, Goldberg left the door open for future returns to the ring. Being 50 years old, obviously any future matches he has would have to keep this in mind: His WWE 24 showed the spirit is willing but the ring rust and how long he’s been away will be major factors.

The video is cued to start just before the moment Braun Strowman shocked the WWE Universe:

…The trolls who commented on this video were quick to point out the fact a shadow can be seen exiting the back of the ambulance–probably Roman Reigns–just before Braun Strowman flips the Ambulance completely over. The camera momentarily shows you the back of the now closed rear ambulance doors (which was clearly a botch as they were open moments before) and confirms no one was in the back.

By the way, that Ambulance’s weight averages 5 tons. You usually see bodybuilders pull or push a vehicle of that size and bigger in competitions but Strowman went full power and flipped it over =O

Roman Reigns’ reported “injuries” afterward are clearly a work. He’s probably going to be taking some time off. The rumors are swirling between retiring The Undertaker and putting over Strowman with this segment Reigns will (finally) Heel turn. With Ambrose as a Face and Rollins a Face, it makes too much sense not for Reigns to Heel turn when he returns now that all three former Shield members are on RAW (Presumably intentional). Ambrose is too over with the crowd to Heel turn and doesn’t need it. Neither does Rollins, who became a Face when he returned from injury last year. Reigns, on the other hand does need it since he doesn’t have the mat skills and mic skills John Cena has that allowed him to not Heel turn since his early years.

As for Strowman, he is clearly being built to feud with Lesnar. Whatever doubts the WWE Universe may have had in regards to Strowman facing Lesnar were prettymuch answered with what he did on RAW. It’s going to be one hell of a matchup =O

According to a few sources within WWE, The Phenom vs. The Roman Empire at WM33 is “prettymuch set”. Vince McMahon has reportedly wanted to book them in a match for some time now. This seems to match rumors I heard last year ‘Taker was originally going to be Reigns’ opponent last year.

It ended up not happening as we know for two reasons:

The Reigns/Triple H feud was going unexectedly well even though everyone knew Trips was just putting Reigns over.

The creative team had to scramble to write Shane McMahon’s sudden return to WWE after a nearly 10 year hiatus. Since Vince was personally involved, they had no choice but to book Shane with The Undertaker. The buildup fell flat but the match itself was unexpectedly good.

…This will be a match for the ages. The foundation for their match at Wrestlemania was laid when Reigns eliminated The Undertaker at the Royal Rumble (See above picture). It’s just a matter of when in regards to when the buildup begins.

What would make this matchup real interesting: According to an interview by Roman Reigns himself, he might Heel turn real soon. That would make the buildup believable and his character has been teasing a Heel turn for some time now.

I think it’s a safe bet the match is a done deal. Even though it won’t be a title match, this time we can expect to see a full match between the two titans of destruction =O

…This was obviously being set up to happen but due to Seth Rollins re-injuring his surgically repaired knee (The same one that cost him 9 months from fall 2015 to Spring 2016), he may be out for up to 8 weeks (!) which means he’s definitely missing Wrestlemania. Ouch! He has not been medically cleared to compete in any live events since the injury on RAW.

WWE has promised to provide an update in the upcoming RAW episode. Should Rollins be shelved, WWE’s creative team apparently has a replacement match set to go…

…The match alot of insiders thought was actually going to happen at last year’s Summer Slam believe it or not. For those who don’t know, there is legit…”tension” is the word I’ll use between Triple H and Shane. Triple H and Stephanie feel threatened by Shane’s return to the company after being away for 7 years. While Shane was away,

Triple H and Stephanie worked their way up the corporate ladder both on and off-screen (By the way, Triple H is the Director of Talent Relations and the Principal Owner of NXT). Triple H’s brain child NXT moved WWE out of the PG Era and helped kick off the rebranding of the Women’s Division. The story goes, it was Stephanie who convinced Vince to trust Triple H and cut back on his on-screen appearances, allowing the company to move into The New Era.

Their concern–more specifically The Game’s–is the possability Vince might hand the company over to Shane. Shane wasn’t lying when he said he “never lost his place in line” this time last year on RAW. As far as I know, Shane does not hold any executive positions within the company aside from being the Smackdown GM since his return.

Should Rollins be shelved–and I don’t think WWE will rush him back for the match–then they will start building this instead.

…We could see what WWE had planned for Seth Rollins and Finn Balor last year: NXT’s best brawler vs. The Face of WWE. Could be crazy but it could also be real interesting. That said, as of right now we still don’t know which roster Samoa Joe will be on yet. I don’t think that’s been set in stone.

That said, I do think it could be an interesting match. They both have crazy stamina and both have impressive mat skills to boot =O

I only just heard about this possible matchup this morning: Bray Wyatt is apparently the favorite to win the WWE Championship at the Elimination Chamber PPV later this month. He would then go on to face Randy Orton at Wrestlemania for the title.

Orton has been part od the Wyatt Family for the last three months. The Apex Predator is one of a handful of superstars who can be Over with the crowd weather he’s a Face or a Heel. We probably won’t see the buildup until after the Elimination Chamber match though.

It goes without saying the match between Goldberg and Brock Lensar left alot to be desired with the way it was built.

As it turns out, my initial analysis when spot-on: Lensar put Goldberg over. According to multiple sources, it was actually Lesnar’s idea when the match was booked. Lesnar reportedly convinced Vince McMahon Goldberg winning was best for business. Turns out Goldberg signed a deal to appear at the Royal Rumble in January, setting up for Wrestlemania 33 where they will presumably have a rematch.

As for why the match only lasted 2 minutes, apparently Goldberg didn’t get enough training done in time for the match. Not only that, apparently he tweaked his shoulder during last week’s promo on RAW. So, WWE took the safe route and made it a squash match since Goldberg was in no condition to have a longer match. Goldberg was already booked to win anyway so…yeah.

It also helps Lesnar and Goldberg are actually close friends in real life. LOL. So, yeah. You can bet Lesnar’s looking forward to working with Goldberg again in the near future.

…I knew when Lesnar’s promo was saved for last something BIG was going to happen. I knew from the last brand split cross-brand invasions were an inevitability. Even so, I never considered the possability it would happen so early. The only reason I can see it working is because of who’s involved: Orton, Lesnar and Heyman. Retaliation should be expected sooner if not later. LOL.

A man of few words, Orton RKO’d Lesnar and made his escaoe through the crowd before RAW Officials could touch him.

RAW kicked off with a mixed tag match–the first such match in a few years–involving Enzo Amore and WWE Women’s Champion Sasha Banks vs. Chris Jericho and Charlotte. It was pretty obvious Sasha and Charlotte just wanted in on Enzo’s promo–How you doin’?

For many in the house crowd, it was probably their first time seeing a match between male and female superstars. As per the rules, competators compete against the same-sex opponents. When a tag is made it counts for both sides prettymuch. Chyna and Lita were two exceptions to this rule that I’m aware of: They could hold their own against male superstars in the ring.

I think we might see male vs. female matchups moving forward due to the talent available on both rosters. From the promo being set up, I thought we were gonna see Banks vs, Jericho until Enzo’s music hit. Now that Big Cass and Kevin Owens are involved in the rivalry, things could be very interesting on RAW next week.

…Roman Reigns’ next opponent has been chosen: U.S. Champion Rusev.

In doing this, you remove him from the Universal Championship hunt, allow the Rollins/Balor feud to build and keep Reigns a Face. Well played, WWE. The two have clashed in the past but this time, the U.S. Title wil be on the line.

An interesting fun fact: Roman Reigns will be the last member of The Shield to win the U.S. Championship. Dean Ambrose won the title shortly after the Shield came to WWE and Seth Rollins became the first superstart to ever hold both the U.S. Title and the WWE Championship at the same time last year (he dropped the U.S. Title to Cena at Summer Slam and vacated the WWE Championship due to injury a few weeks later).

…This isn’t a tag match: D. Young and Titus are facing off in singles competition. The former longtime tag team partners came close to winning the Tag Team Championship during their second run as a team a few years ago as the Prime Time Players.

The new rivalry between the former friends is a clear message their days are partners are now over. Since becoming a singles competator, Titus O’Neil has gotten close to winning the U.S. Title and the WWE Championship but came up short. D. Young also came up short in his recent failed bid to get the IC Championship at Battleground. Titus also turned Heel. Here’s hoping it isn’t just for their feud.

Speaking of, it will be very important for WWE to have their next opponent(s) lined up before their feud reaches its end. More for D. Young’s sake than Titus.

…Ah, the return of Squash Matches. A Squash Match is basically what you’ve been seeing Strowman and Jaxx do two weeks in a row now: A match against a local competator who has no chance against them. Said local competator is fed to their opponent but it does give them publicity for smaller promotions that might want to sign them.

It’s more handy for Jaxx than Strowman in my book: Everyone already knows what Strowman is capable of. I assume WWE’s building him for a feud with another big man. The Big Show, Mark Henry, Rusev, Titus O’Neil or possibly even Brock Lesnar. It could be fun.

Nia Jaxx will definitely be in the title hunt soon. It could be as soon as the Sasha Banks/Charlotte Rivalry runs its course or shortly before: Sasha Banks certainly will want to have someone handy to deal with Dana Brook. LOL.

Here are the first 30 draft choices in the order they were announced by brand on the first live edition of Smackdown. In parantheses are is the overall draft order. These rosters should be assumed set in stone after Battleground though as of right now, there is one cross-brand match on the card for Summer Slam next month (Lesnar vs. Orton).

The Raw Commissioner is Stephanie McMahon. The GM is Mick Foley.

Superstars:

Seth Rollins (1st)

Women’s Champion Charlotte (3rd)

Finn Balor* (5th)

Roman Reigns (6th)

Brock Lesnar (8th)

Tag Team Champions The New Day# (10th)

Sami Zayn (11th)

Sasha Banks (13th)

Chris Jericho (15th)

US Champion Rusev w/ Lana (16th)

Kevin Owens (18th)

Enzo and Cass# (20th)

Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson (21st)

The Big Show (23rd)

Nia Jax* (25th)

Neville (26th)

Cesaro (28th)

Sheamus (30th)

The Golden Truth# (31st)

Titus O’Neil (33rd)

Paige (35th)

Darren Young (36th)

Sin Carra (38th)

Jack Swagger (40th)

The Dudley Boyz# (42nd)

Summer Rae (44th)

Mark Henry (46th)

Braun Stroman (48th)

Bo Dallas (50th)

The Shining Stars# (52nd)

Alicia Fox (54th)

Dana Brooke (56th)

Curtis Axel (58th)

Announcers

Michael Cole

Corey Graves

Byron Saxton

* Drafted from NXT

# All existing members of the group were drafted together

The Smackdown Commissioner is Shane McMahon. The GM is Daniel Bryan.

Superstars:

WWE Champion Dean Ambrose (2nd)

AJ Styles (4th)

John Cena (7th)

Randy Orton (9th)

Bray Wyatt (12th)

Becky Lynch (14th)

Intercontinental Champion The Miz w/ Maurice (17th)

Baron Corbin (19th)

American Alpha* (22nd)

Dolph Ziggler (24th)

Natalya (27th)

Alberto Del Rio (29th)

The Usos# (32nd)

Kane (34th)

Kalisto (37th)

Naomi (39th)

The Ascension (41st)

Zack Ryder (43rd)

Apollo Crews (45th)

Alexa Blizz* (47th)

Breezango (49th)

Eva Marie (51st)

The Vaudevillains (53rd)

Eric Rowan (55th)

Mojo Rawley* (57th)

Carmella* (59th)

Announcers:

Mauro Ranollo

JBL

David Otunga

* Drafted from NXT

# All existing members of the group were drafted together

…There you have it. As I expected earlier, only the top talent were drafted first. Mid-Tier and Lower-Tier picks will be made on WWE Network after Smackdown. I don’t plan to say up for those picks so I’ll give you those 30 picks sometime tomorrow. This weekend, I will make a page with the full list of who is on which roster.

…You will notice Jerry Lawler’s name is not on either announcers’ list. According to a few sources, he was quietly released last week due to the legal trouble he got into a few weeks ago. There are two notable omissions to both rosters: Heath Slater, Luke Harper and Tamina Snuka. You can’t help but wonder a few things given Slater’s there to be fed to other superstars and the lawsuit Tamina’s father is a part of that was filed on Monday. Harper–the 4th member of the Wyatt Family is wrapping up production with a WWE Movie.

There were also a few more matches than I thought. Here are some highlights:

Darren Young unveiled the Chicken Wing submisssion maneuver on The Miz. It’s a move he obviously learned from his life coach, WWE Hall of Famer Bob Backlund.

Aj Styles showed off a Smackdown T-Shirt as he made his way to the ring with Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson in the first match of the night. AJ had been drafted to Smackdown but Gallows and Anderson were undrafted at that point.

Kane’s match with Kevin Owens never happened due to Sami Zayn’s interference. After getting double chokeslammed by Kane, Owens and Zayn were both drafted to RAW.